Railway switch operating apparatus



July 7, 1936. H. L. BONE 2,046,893

RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS Original Filed April 13, 1933 [25flerbe ig zv on BY @Kq/Li HIS ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1936 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS Herbert L. Bone,Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to The. Union Switch & Signal Company,Swissvale, Pa'., a corporation of Pennsylvania 9 Claims.

My invention relates to railway switch operating apparatus, andparticularly to apparatus of the type involving a longitudinally movableslide bar coacting with elements for causing operation of a railwayswitch.

One object of my invention is the provision of a novel and improvedfriction lock device for preventing creeping of the slide bar fromeither of its extreme positions.

The present application isa division of my copending application, SerialNo. 665,914, filed on April 13, 1933, for Railway Switch OperatingApparatus.

I will describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and willthen point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In theaccompanying drawing, Fig. l is a top plan view showing a railwayswitch A actuated by one form of switch operating mechanism B embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan View of a portion of the:mechanism shown in Fig. 1, with the top plate I8 and circuit controllerC removed to better illustrate the construction. Fig. 3 is a front viewof a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in all three views.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the reference character A designates arailway switch comprising as usual two fixed rails I and I a and twomovable switch points 2 and 2 The fixed rails I and I are laid on tieplates 3 and are secured to crossties 4 in the usual manner. The switchpoints 2 and 2 are connected together by a front rod 5, a head rod 6,and a. tie rod 6 and may be moved into a normal or a reverse position bymeans of a switch operating mechanism B which is connected with the headrod 6 through the medium of an operating rod I and the usual switchbasket 8. When the switch occupies its normal position, in whichposition it is shown in Fig. 1, the swtch point 2 engages the fixed railI, and the switch point 2* is spaced a predetermined distance from thefixed rail I When the switch is reversed, however, the switch point 2then engages the fixed rail I a and the switch point 2 is spaced fromthe fixed rail I.

The switch operating mechanism B is mounted on a bed plate 9 which issecured to the ties 4 adjacent the outer side of the rail I, and in theform here shown, this mechanism comprises a base plate In (see Figs. 2and 3), bolted to the bed plate 9, and carrying a longitudinally movableslide bar II which is guided between rollers journalled on studs whichproject upwardly from the base plate. The slide bar I I is adapted to bereciprocated between two extreme positions, and for this purpose theslide bar is operatively connected with the piston rod I2 of a fluidpressure motor I3 which is bolted to the base plate I0. As shown in thedrawing, the slide bar is connected with the piston rod I2 at theleft-hand end of the slide bar, but it should be pointed out that inactual practice the slide bar will usually be so constructed and theparts will be so arranged that the slide bar can be connected with thepiston rod of the motor I3 at whichever end of the slide bar proves tobe the most convenient for any particular installation, and the bedplate 9 will usually be drilled in such manner that the 15 motor can bebolted to the bed plate at either end of the slide bar.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the slide bar II consists of an upper bar II anda lower bar II riveted together in superposed parallel spaced relation.A roller I5 is rotatably mounted between the bars I I and N and thisroller coacts with an alligator jaw I6 which is journalled at its lowerend in the base plate I and at its upper end in a top plate I8. The topplate I8 is boltedto the base plate I0 in parallel spaced relation andserves to prevent vertical displacement of the slide bar II between itsroller guides. The alligator jaw I6 is operatively connected with thepreviously described operating rod 1 in the usual and well known manner.

In addition to carrying the roller IS, the slide bar I I carries twolocking dogs I9 and 20 which are attached to the upper and lower bars II and II respectively, and which cooperate with suitable notches I9 and20 respectively, formed in an adjustable lock rod L. The lock rod -L isof the usual and well-known construction, and is connected to thefront-rod of the switch A in the usual manner. The parts which have thusfar been described are in widespread use, and their operation is wellunderstood, so that for purposes of the present disclosure, it isbelieved that the following brief description of the operation of theseparts will be sufiicient.

When the slide bar I I occupies its extreme normal position, in whichposition it is shown in the drawing, the switch points are held in theirnormal positions by engagement of the roller I5 with the right-hand sideof the alligator jaw I6, and under these conditions, the locking dog I9enters the notch I9 in the lock rod L and locks the switch points intheir normal positions. When, however, the slide bar is moved from itsextreme normal position to its extreme reverse P ition,

the first part of the movement of the slide bar withdraws the lockingdog I 9 from the notch It in the lock rod L to unlock the switch, theintermediate part of the movement of the slide bar causes the switchpoints to be moved to the extreme position opposite to that in whichthey are shown in Fig. l, and the final part of the movement of theslide bar moves the locking dog 20 into engagement with the notch 2|] inthe lock rod L to lock the switch points in their re' verse positions.The operation of the apparatus when the slide bar is subsequentlyrestored to its extreme normal position is exactly the reverse of thatjust described and will be obvious from an inspection of the drawing.

It has been found that under some conditions there is a tendency for theslide bar H to creep away from the extreme position which it occupieswhen the switch operating mechanism is at rest, this tendency probablybeing due to vibration caused by passing trains. When such creepageoccurs, it is manifest by the fact that the signals which govern trafficover the switch cannot be cleared because of the control of thesesignals by an indication circuit controller C which is controlled inpart by the slide bar, and which is described in detail in my copendingapplication, Serial No. 665,914, of which the present application is adivision. It is obvious, therefore, that this creepage of the slide baris undesirable, and one of the objects of my invention is to provide afriction lock which prevents this creepage, my friction lock being animprovement over that shown and described in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,732,957, granted to Charles Thorn and William C. Mc-Whirter, on October 22, 1929, for Railway switch operating 7 mechanism.

Referring now again to Figs. 2 and 3, my improved friction lock isdisposed on the side of the slide bar opposite to the alligator jaw I6and in transverse alignment with the alligator jaw, and in the form hereshown, this look comprises a curved dog 2| secured intermediate its endsto a pin 22 which is 'journalled in the base plate l0 and top plate l8,and a curved dog 23 which is mounted to rotate at one end on the pin 22,the dog 23 being provided with bifurcations which straddle theright-hand end of the dog 2|, as shown in Fig. 3." Formed on the innerside of the dog 23 directly opposite, and in alignment with, a tappedhole 24 which is provided in theright-hand end of the dog 2| is a socket25; and interposed between the socket 25 and an adjustable plug 26 whichis screwed into the outer end of the hole 24, is a compressed coilspring 21 which biases the dogs 2| and 23 to the positions in which theinner ends of these dogs extend part way into the path of movement ofthe roller'|5, the dogs being stopped in the desired positions by meansof stop pins 28 extending upwardly from the base plate [0. The parts areso proportioned that when the slide bar II is inits extreme normalposition in which it is shown in the drawing, the end surface 23 of thedog 23 will be very close to the lower left-hand side of the roller I5,as viewed in Fig. 2, and that, when the slide bar occupies its oppositeor reverse extreme position, the end surface 2| of the dog 2| will belocated very close to the lower right-hand side of the roller 5.Furthermore, the end surface of both'of these dogs is disposed at anacute angle to the'path of movement of the roller I5, as will beapparent from an inspection of Fig. 2. It will be seen,

therefore, that when the slide bar occupies its extreme normal position,it cannot move out of this position unless sufiicient force is exertedon it to force dog 23 back against the opposing force of spring 2'! asufficient amount to permit roller l5 to clear the end surf-ace 23 ofdog 23, and that, when the slide bar occupies its extreme reverseposition, it cannot move out of this position unless sufiicient force isexerted on it to cause dog 2| to be forced back against the opposingforce of spring 21 a sufficient distance to permit roller |5 to clearthe end surface 2| of the dog 2|. The amount of compression of spring 2!will usually be so adjusted that the force required to move the dogs outof the path of movement of the roller l5 will be greater than any forcetending to cause the slide bar to creep, but will not be enough tointerfere with the movement of the slide bar by the motor. In thisconnection, it should be pointed out that the necessary operation of thefriction look by the motor takes place during the unlocking and lockingportions of the stroke of the slide bar, and the load on the motor atthis time is much less than it is during that portion of the stroke ofthe slide bar in which the reversal of the switch points occurs, so thatthe force available to operate the lock is more than ample. Furthermore,when the slide bar is being moved to an extreme or looking positionafter reversal of the switch points, the roller I5 then cooperates witha side surf-ace 2| on the dog 2|, or a side surface 23" on the dog 23 asthe case may be, and not with the end surface of these dogs; and theside surfaces 2| and 23 are disposed at such angles 3 with respect tothe path of movement of the roller that the force Which the slide barmust exert when the roller is engaging one of these surfaces, in orderto move the associated dog out of the path of movement of the roller, isconsiderably less than that required to move such dog out of the path ofmovement of the roller when the slide bar is being moved away from anextreme position.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of railwayswitch operating apparatus embodying my invention, it is widerstood thatvarious changes and modifications may be made therein within the scopeof the appended claims Without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide bar movablelongitudinally between two extreme positions and operatively connectedwith the switch, a roller carried by said slide bar, two dogs pivotallymounted for rotation about a common axis, and means for biasing saiddogs to such position that the one dog will coact with said roller toprevent creeping of said slide bar when said slide bar occupies oneextreme position and that the other dog will coact with said roller toprevent creeping of said slide bar when said slide bar occupies theother 6 extreme position.

2. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide bar movablelongitudinally between two extreme positions and operatively connectedwith the switch, a roller carried by said slide bar, two dogs pivotallymounted for rotation about a common axis, and a single springoperatively connected with both dogs for biasing said dogs to suchpositions that the one dog will coact with said roller to preventcreeping of said slide bar when said slide bar occupies one extremeposition and that the other dog will coact with said roller to preventcreeping of said slide bar when said slide bar occupies the otherextreme position.

3. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable between two extreme positions and operativelyconnected with the switch, and means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of its extreme positions comprising a rollercarried by said slide bar and two dogs pivoted for rotation about acommon axis and biased by means of a single spring to positions forengagement with said roller.

4. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable between two extreme positions and operativelyconnected with the switch, and means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of its extreme positions comprising a rollercarried by said slide bar, and two dogs pivoted for rotation about acommon axis and biased by means of a single spring to such positionsthat the ends of said dogs extend into the path of movement of saidroller.

5. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable between two extreme positions and operativelyconnected with the switch, and means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of its extreme positions comprising a rollercarried by said slide bar, and two dogs pivoted for rotation about acommon axis and biased by means of a single spring to such positionsthat the ends of said dogs extend into the path of movement of saidroller adjacent the two positions respectively which the roller occupieswhen said slide bar is in two extreme positions.

6. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable be tween two extreme positions and oDerativelycon nected with the switch, and means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of its extreme positions comprising a rollercarried by said slide bar, and two dogs pivoted for rotation about acommon axis and biased by means of a single spring to such positionsthat the ends of said dogs extend into the path of movement of saidroller, the ends of said dogs being disposed at an acute angle to thepath of movement of said roller.

'7. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable between two extreme positions and operativelyconnected with the switch, and means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of its extreme positions comprising a rollercarried by said slide bar, and two dogs pivoted for rotation about acommon axis and biased by means 5 of a single spring to such positionsthat the ends of said dogs extend into the path of movement of saidroller, the ends of said dogs being disposed at an acute angle to thepath of movement of said roller adjacent the positions which 10 saidroller occupies when said slide bar occupies its extreme positions.

8. A railway switch actuating mechanism comprising a slide barlongitudinally movable between two extreme positions, a roller carriedby 15 said slide bar, an alligator jaw operated by said roller formoving the switch, two dogs pivotally mounted for rotation about acommon axis, and means for biasing said dogs to such positions that theone dog will coact with said roller to prevent 20 creeping of said slidebar when said slide bar occupies one extreme position and that the otherdog will coact with said roller to prevent creeping of said slide barwhen said slide bar occupies the other extreme position.

9. In a railway switch actuating mechanism the combination of a slidebar longitudinally movable between two extreme positions and operativelyconnected with the switch, of means for preventing creeping of saidslide bar from either of 30 its extreme positions, said means comprisinga roller carried by said slide bar, a first curved dog mountedintermediate its ends on a rotatable pin,

a second curved dog pivoted at one end on said pin and provided withbifurcations which strad- 35 dle the one end of said first dog, saidfirst dog being provided in its one end with a socket, and said otherdog being provided intermediate its ends and opposite said socket with ascrew threaded hole, a plug screwed into the outer end of 40 said hole,and a compressed spring having one end disposed in said socket and theother end disposed in said hole and engaging said plug for biasing saiddogs to predetermined positions, the parts being so proportioned thatwhen said dogs 45 occupy the positions to which they are biased the freeend of the one dog will extend into the path of movement of said rollerclose to the position which said roller occupies when said slide baroccupies its one extreme position and the free end of the other dog willextend into the path of movement of said roller close to the positionwhich said roller occupies when said slide bar occupies its otherextreme position.

HERBERT L. BONE.

